Canadian Capitalist

59 responses so far ↓

• 1 John S. // Sep 25, 2007 at 8:08 pm

  So did you actually close your account Questrade and where did you go to?

• 2 laketrout // Sep 25, 2007 at 8:56 pm

  I’m curious as to where you’ll go as well. I’m looking to open an online account and it’s good to hear this kind of first hand account of different brokerages.

• 3 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 25, 2007 at 9:41 pm

  John, laketrout: I haven’t decided to move my accounts yet but if I did move, I’d consolidate all my accounts with TD Waterhouse. We currently have our RRSP accounts with them and though I’ve been with TDW for only a few months, I am impressed with their service. Also, if you have $100K in total household assets with TDW, you qualify for their $9.99 commissions. I’ve posted about TDW and other brokers elsewhere on the blog. Just look in the “discount broker” category.

• 4 FourPillars // Sep 25, 2007 at 9:47 pm

  Interesting situation - I suspect that errors and issues that come up with Questrade have more to do with the fact that they seem to be a fairly new company rather than the cheap trades.

  Mike

• 5 Faisal // Sep 26, 2007 at 12:00 am

  I’ve been thinking about opening an account at Questrade, and I’m quite close to doing so, but every now and then, there’s a negative that comes up about them, either as a comment at the famed Million Dollar Journey Questrade post, or as a post on a site like this. From what I’ve read, Emil does a great job at taking care of business once things get to his level, but I’m concerned about having to hassle every now and then with mistakes like this. What to do? I really just want to set up a sleepy portfolio with some funds, but brokers like eTrade or TDW just charge too much.

• 6 Mr. Cheap // Sep 26, 2007 at 1:16 am

  That was part of my reluctance to jump over to some of the new kids on the block. I always get *very* frustrated when client reps can resolve simple problems (try transfering a phone number between carriers, it’ll drive you nuts).

• 7 Mr. Cheap // Sep 26, 2007 at 1:23 am

  Er, that shouldn’t be *CAN’T*. I have no problem when they can resolve simple problem. I actually like that.

• 8 Phil S // Sep 26, 2007 at 6:26 am

  I opened up a Questrade account about two months ago but have yet to execute a trade there. Shortly after I opened my account, both the broader market as well as my own opinion on the market turned bearish. So, there’s nothing but the basic minimum in that account holding it open.

• 9 FourPillars // Sep 26, 2007 at 7:21 am

  Faisal - if you look hard enough you will find both positive and negative comments on every broker. I don’t know what you should do about a broker but maybe just try to pick the one that best suits you and go from there.

  Mike

• 10 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 26, 2007 at 7:45 am

  Faisal: I second Mike’s opinion. If I still paid $29 at the competition, I would probably put up with Questrade. But we are eligible for TDW’s low commissions, so I’d rather not deal with any hassles.

  I am not concerned that Questrade made a mistake but the CSR’s gave a runaround instead of fixing the problem. As of today, the charges are still not reversed! That’s FIVE days!

  I can’t help but compare their service with TDW. I called them once to link all the accounts of our household for the lower commissions and one week later it still wasn’t done. I called them a second time and the CSR offered to fix the problem and call me when it was taken care of. Now TDW made a mistake too but it still impressed me that they took care of the problem so well.

• 11 Joe // Sep 26, 2007 at 9:03 am

  What are the implications of moving your broker? I assume there is just a termination fee per account (I believe $100 for RBC Direct investing). And a bit of time for the change to take effect..

  Is that it?

• 12 TonyR // Sep 26, 2007 at 9:31 am

  I had a similar incorrect charge at TDW. The agent had it fixed before the end of the call.

• 13 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 26, 2007 at 10:10 am

  Joe: Moving to a different broker is very easy. You have to fill out a transfer form, a fee is deducted from your account ($125 at Questrade) and it takes a week or two for the account to be moved. Brokers often offer to refund the transfer fee.

  TonyR: It happened to me once at RBC Direct Investing. They reversed the charge immediately. That’s what I expected of Questrade too.

• 14 telly // Sep 26, 2007 at 10:47 am

  Ugh…I just opened my Questrade account.

  CC, have you actually got the US cheque transfer (with fax) to work yet? I know you detailed how to do it but wasn’t sure if yuo’d actually performed the transaction. How quickly is a USD deposit at TDW completed?

  For me the difference between a $9.99 commission and a $4.95 commission is significant enough to stick with Questrade. But I’ve only made one purchase siince opening the account and I’ve still not transferred our RRSPs until I see how it works out.

• 15 willfly // Sep 26, 2007 at 11:55 am

  Use Interactive Brokers - 1$/most trade, min 10$/month. Works perfectly for someone interested in sleepy portfolio and investing in index ETF’s

• 16 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 26, 2007 at 2:22 pm

  Telly: Yeah. I got the US cheque transfer working with Questrade. With TDW, if you deposit the cheque at a local branch, your account would be funded within a few days. I mailed a cheque to the local TDW office and they had to go to a branch to deposit and even then it only took 4 business days.

  For me, there isn’t much difference between $9.95 and $4.95 because I make only a few trades in our investment account in one year. I’d rather have reliability compared to the lower cost.

  Willfly: If I do move my account again, I will go to TDW. There are benefits to consolidating all accounts in one place.

• 17 Questrade // Sep 26, 2007 at 2:26 pm

  Generally, our clients’ response to the service team is very positive, saying things like fast, efficient, knowledgeable, and courteous. Unfortunately, even if we’re batting 99.999%, there is the rare ball being dropped.

  And unfortunately that’s what happened in your case, Canadian Capitalist. We are investigating the precise details of what happened, which we do any time there is an issue.

  Now I’d like to turn to a few of the thoughts that have been raised in this thread.

  Canadian Capitalist // Sep 25, 2007
  Finally, I had to send an e-mail to Emil … requesting his intervention in this simple matter…
  Canadian Capitalist: I’m glad you emailed me. In fact, this is precisely what I’ve been saying for a while in your forum and others. If there’s every a problem, contact me directly.

  Faisal // Sep 26, 2007 at 12:00 am
  From what I’ve read, Emil does a great job at taking care of business once things get to his level, but I’m concerned about having to hassle every now and then with mistakes like this.
  Faisal: My invitation to contact me directly is for everyone. It is not a hassle at all. As I said above, sometimes a problem doesn’t get adequately addressed – and this can and does happen with any company. My role is to be the back-up – make sure nothing and no one is overlooked.

  • FourPillars // Sep 25, 2007 at 9:47 pm
  Interesting situation - I suspect that errors and issues that come up with Questrade have more to do with the fact that they seem to be a fairly new company rather than the cheap trades.
  Questrade is now in its 8th year of operation and we have about 70 employees at our office. We were the first direct access broker to become a member of the IDA in Canada, and we are members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund, and a participating organization of the Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, and the Montreal Exchange. In other words, Questrade is a solid, dependable brokerage. And we do listen.

  Thanks,

  Emil Vojkollari
  Client Acquisitions Supervisor
  Web: http://www.questrade.com
  Phone: (416) 227-9876 ext.380
  Toll Free: 1-888-783-7866 ext.380
  Fax: (416) 227-0078

• 18 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 26, 2007 at 3:01 pm

  Emil: Thanks for your comments. I do know that Questrade listens to clients and you thought out of the box to fix the delays with depositing USD cheques. That’s why, despite my recent experience, our accounts are still with Questrade.

  Yes, mistakes do happen. But, I’ve been contacting your CSR’s every day for four days asking to justify the interest charges. They promise to investigate further and contact me by e-mail or phone but don’t follow up. Why? That’s not one dropped ball. It’s four.

  As of this morning, the interest charges are still not reversed despite yesterday’s email that the error has been “identified and corrected” and the issue would be “resolved very shortly”. For me, this is still an open issue and Questrade’s response has been unacceptably slow even when you are cracking the whip.

• 19 Mike // Sep 26, 2007 at 3:39 pm

  Hi CC, Is saw your post about the 9.95 at TDW with 100K in a household. Do you have a link for that info from there site? I’ve never heard of this before with them. thanks.

• 20 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 26, 2007 at 4:53 pm

  Mike: If you have 100K in total between all accounts in the same household with TDW, you are eligible for a $9.99 commission. You have to call in to notify TDW about the accounts to take advantage of the lower commissions. This is very new and is only effective as of Sept. 2007.

  Link

• 21 Thicken My Wallet » Blog Archive » Does Bad Customer Service = Better Profit? // Sep 27, 2007 at 4:00 am

  [...] to believe that this week is bad customer service week. Canadian Capitalist posted the other day on giving up on Questrade discount brokerage (although in their defense, their “Customer Acquisition [...]

• 22 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 27, 2007 at 7:25 am

  Emil: Actions speak louder than words. The charges are still not reversed ONE WEEK after I contacted Questrade.

• 23 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 28, 2007 at 1:13 pm

  Finally, the interest charges were reversed and my account credited as of this morning. Thanks to Emil for his efforts in sorting out this problem.

• 24 Faisal // Oct 3, 2007 at 7:41 am

  Thanks all for the responses! CC, good to hear that your charges have been reversed. At this point, I’m still debating opening my RSP there.

  willfly, IB is great no doubt. I had an account with them and except for the added urge to become a trader, I really enjoyed being with them. In the future, I’ll definitely go with them again for my non-registered investments. If only they did RSPs, though.

• 25 Dom // Oct 3, 2007 at 1:53 pm

  “If you have 100K in total between all accounts in the same household with TDW, you are eligible for a $9.99 commission”

  Do “all accounts” include only brokerage acct or does it include savings / chequing accts at TD bank as well?

  Thanks,

• 26 Canadian Capitalist // Oct 3, 2007 at 5:23 pm

  Dom: I believe it is only brokerage accounts with TD Waterhouse that counts.

• 27 Canadian Capitalist // Oct 5, 2007 at 9:48 am

  telly: I just deposited a USD cheque into my TDW account on a Sat. The deposit showed up on the cash balance on Tues, the same day it was cleared from my checking account.

• 28 Mihai // Oct 8, 2007 at 2:20 am

  Interactive Brokers; the lowest commisions
  Example
  100 XTR - $1
  2,000 CVV - $4.8

• 29 Mayur Jobanputra » Questrade - not all they are cut out to be // Nov 28, 2007 at 1:27 am

  [...] I have written a series of posts on redflagdeals here.  Turns out the problems are also being reported by others, like CanadianCapitalist.com as well.  [...]

• 30 Mayur // Nov 28, 2007 at 1:34 am

  Hi CanadianCapitalist. Thanks for having your web site and teaching the web community. I have also found that Questrade is not all that they are cut out to be. I have put a small post on my blog, and put a series of posts on redflagdeals.com detailing my experiences.

  http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?referrerid=32220&t=508143
  http://www.mayurjobanputra.com/index.php/2007/11/27/questrade-not-all-they-are-cut-out-to-be/

  I am still with questrade today, and I have pretty much put all my transactions and investing on hold (except for a few small investments). Clearly, there is a lot more I need to get educated on before I jump in further with a larger investment

• 31 ETF Income // Nov 29, 2007 at 4:41 pm

  I noticed that questrade Online Live Help is not working! Anybody experienced that?

• 32 Fox // Dec 5, 2007 at 12:55 pm

  I cancelled my questrade account after they mistakenly sent me someone else’s application form (complete with Social Insurance Number)

• 33 jose // Dec 18, 2007 at 3:57 pm

  I mailed a us draft to questrade 1 week ago, 2 days later, I was able to trade those founds.
  3 days ago looked to my account and all my positions were sold, and all my money is gone, I have been talking with them for 2 full days, they say they will contact me or email me, but they haven’t. I cant believe that they don’t know where my money is. I Talked to my bank and they said the draft has already been cashed. I don’t really know who to contact.
  Painful situation .

• 34 Canadian Capitalist // Dec 19, 2007 at 10:30 am

  Jose: You should contact Emil with your problem. I hope your problem gets resolved and please do let us know how it turned out.

• 35 jose // Dec 19, 2007 at 3:11 pm

  Yes I will let you know. They haven’t been able to tell me where the money is yet, this is so frustrating.

• 36 Le // Dec 20, 2007 at 12:22 am

  Well, I guess we get what we pay for

• 37 Mark // Dec 27, 2007 at 1:24 pm

  I too am having problems opening an account with Questrade.

  On Dec 14 I initiated an Internet transfer to open an RESP account at Questrade. As of Dec 27th the money has yet to appear in my account.

  Most concerning is the lack of interest by the phone representatives at Questrade. Initially I sent an email and received only an automated response.

  After several phone calls each with empty promises to follow up I spoke with a phone rep who admitted that there was a computer glitch on their side and that I should feel confident about making a larger transfer to accommodate an end of year tax deadline.

  When asked when I could expect to see the issue resolved they could provide no timeline. Monies deposited would not be accessible until the issue was resolved.

  After escalating the issue Questrade indicated that they would send me an email confirming the situation. Two days later I am still waiting for the email to be sent.

  …/Disappointed

• 38 Sean // Jan 3, 2008 at 11:33 pm

  A friend and I were thinking of opening a joint account with Questrade, but are also considering forming a “club” of sorts (we’re in university) with a few other people and thus opening a club account. Anyone know the benefits/down-falls of both accounts? Tax implications? charges? etc.

  Thanks!

• 39 Trizi // Jan 14, 2008 at 5:13 pm

  Well, I have swapped several times because no matter where you go, there are problems.

  I trade a lot of US stocks in my RRSP and even if TD Waterhouse “washes” trades, it is a completely manual process and error-prone. I have to check over the washes to make sure it’s done correctly and this is because of really inadequate software.

  And yes, when I had issues around how they arrived at some of the values it took 3 calls to separate people and two weeks to get an answer and correction.

  My background is financial software, and this stuff is complicated, so that’s why a good system is important. As soon as you have to get people to do a review of some issue, that’s what takes time, and you have to follow up no matter where you go.

  Personally, I like any company (like Questrade) that endeavours to keep Canada in the 21st Century by at least making attempts to bring technology to us. The US has had it for years - take a look at “Think or Swim” - just awesome trading for everyday people like us.

  Anyway, Questrade just announced they’ve added the capability to keep US dollars in our RRSPs to avoid exchange rate fees, so I’m checking them out.

• 40 Questrade Hater // Jan 19, 2008 at 5:17 am

  To Mark:
  I was in a similar situation like you. It took me two and a half months to see my internet transfer, and it wasn’t even the full amount. My suggestion to you is to contact wherever you are transferring your money from (e.g. your bank) and have them investigate the transfer. Don’t waste your time on the phone representatives. Each time you call them, they all act retarded, with a memory span of a goldfish.

  As for those considering Questrade, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!! The fees are enticing, but CAVEAT EMPTOR (let the buyer beware). If you consider them, DO NOT WIRE THE MONEY VIA INTERNET!!!!!

• 41 paul e. // Jan 22, 2008 at 11:58 pm

  i have had numerous problems with questrade. here’s the latest.

  i got an e-mail from them detailing my account info, and how they had tried to send me correspondence, but it kept getting returned. the account info they e-mailed me wasn’t mine. there in front of me was someone elses name, address, account number, phone number account type, everything but there passwords!
  i logged into my account at questrade, and sure enough, staring back at me was this other persons info.
  needless to say i was furious. they kept brushing me off, though. never addressing my queries as to how this could happen. this was 2 weeks ago, and i am currently looking for another online service.

• 42 Questrade // Jan 24, 2008 at 10:32 am

  Paul,

  Please contact me ASAP.

  Thank you,

  Emil Vojkollari
  Client Acquisitions Supervisor
  Web: http://www.questrade.com
  Phone: (416) 227-9876 ext.380
  Toll Free: 1-888-783-7866 ext.380
  Fax: (416) 227-0078
  _____________________________________________________________________________
  Questrade Inc. | 5650 Yonge Street, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M2M 4G3

  Trade Stocks for $4.95
  Ranked # 1 for both Fees and Customer Satisfaction - The Globe & Mail

• 43 Questrade // Jan 24, 2008 at 10:35 am

  Fox,

  I need you to contact me as well. I find these situations quite hard to beleive.

  Thank you,

  Emil Vojkollari
  Client Acquisitions Supervisor
  Web: http://www.questrade.com
  Phone: (416) 227-9876 ext.380
  Toll Free: 1-888-783-7866 ext.380
  Fax: (416) 227-0078
  _____________________________________________________________________________
  Questrade Inc. | 5650 Yonge Street, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M2M 4G3

  Trade Stocks for $4.95
  Ranked # 1 for both Fees and Customer Satisfaction - The Globe & Mail

• 44 Questrade // Jan 25, 2008 at 6:08 pm

  Paul, Fox,

  I still need you to contact me.

  As for anyone else reading these blog, please disregard the above comments from Paul and Fox until I verify their validity.

  Thank you,

  Emil Vojkollari
  Client Acquisitions Supervisor
  Web: http://www.questrade.com
  Phone: (416) 227-9876 ext.380
  Toll Free: 1-888-783-7866 ext.380
  Fax: (416) 227-0078
  _____________________________________________________________________________
  Questrade Inc. | 5650 Yonge Street, Suite 1700, Toronto, ON M2M 4G3

  Trade Stocks for $4.95
  Ranked # 1 for both Fees and Customer Satisfaction - The Globe & Mail

• 45 Canadian Capitalist // Jan 25, 2008 at 7:33 pm

  Emil: I’ve emailed Paul and Fox asking them to contact you directly.

• 46 derek // Jan 28, 2008 at 3:40 pm

  need advice
  i was looking to open a individual questrade account do start day trading. I am mostly looking to trade within the nasdaq or nyse but i live in canada. Are there any fees between the currency conversion when i buy US stock? If there is can i aviod paying this fee by setting up an account which only hold US dollars? Are there any discount brokerages in canada where i am able to do trade between canadian exchanges and US exchanges without a fee?

• 47 Canadian Capitalist // Jan 28, 2008 at 10:23 pm

  Derek: When you open a taxable account with any discount broker, two accounts are opened for you: one CAD account and one USD account. All transactions in the USD account are in US dollars. I’m not sure I understand the second part of your question.

• 48 Stevie Austin // Jan 30, 2008 at 12:02 am

  “As for anyone else reading these blog, please disregard the above comments from Paul and Fox until I verify their validity. ” Emil Vojkollari- Client Acquisitions Supervisor

  This person seems an expert at putting out “fires” but the question remains…WHY are there so many fires at Questrade???

  I am surfing here (webpage) because I want to move all my holdings OUT of CIBC, which incidentally indulge in nickel and diming their investors to death, on top of major screw ups of their own! And yes, the last illicit charges I discovered, I had to fight tooth & nail in order to have them reversed; which they only did, after many weeks, because I threatened them with a complete move out! I assume this kind of “eronneous” activity will only increase since they (CIBC) have written off somewhere around $7.2 BILLION dollars (or more by now!) of Wall Street con job subprime mortgage related “investments”! You would think that heads would roll over there but nothing happened; business as usual! Where do you think they will plunge their greedy hands in order to make up for their short sighted stupidity? Take one guess!

  But, on the other hand, they still have not “lost” my account holdings, such as is the case with one of the aforementioned Questrade “fires”!

  So, my dillemma seems to be: do I keep on maintaining the expensive ship (CIBC) I hardly use [no Canadian shorts in RRSPs & bear market] or do I save money by transferring to a cheaper but rickety paddle boat that can sink (lost account/ wrong trades executed/ etc.) at any time while I attempt to cross the alligator infested waters (Wall & Bay street)?

• 49 William From Montrel // Mar 17, 2008 at 1:01 pm

  I have been using Questrade for many months. I am overall happy with it, made about 50-100 orders alltogether. I think I would recommand Questrade.

  I’d like to warn some people though. Those of you who sometimes make quick actions, like selling one share to buy another one instantly… watch out! Questrade has lot of issues with their server/database and sometimes when you sell, your available money is not updated right away, and you won’t have ’sufficient funds’ to buy. More than once I had to contact customer support with their web/java support page, and they had to contact account management to have my available funds manually updated by them. I don’t know what’s wrong with their system but there is definitely something wrong.

  But if making “quick” actions is not something you usually do, Questrade is certainly the way to go, from my own experience.

• 50 Adieu to Questrade // Apr 16, 2008 at 3:10 pm

  [...] Customer Service: There must be some very satisfied Questrade customers as it was ranked #1 that category in The Globe & Mail ranking of discount brokers. Let’s just say I am not one among them. [...]

• 51 Butch // May 22, 2008 at 11:12 am

  I have been a longtime eTrade customer. The only problem I have had with them is the trading(Limit Orders) odd lots. I did switch sometime ago to Questrade but at the time they offered 2 different system of fees: 9.95 or 4.95 plus 1 ct/share. The latter got pretty pricing if you took a run at a “penny stock”. Plus the fact that I was never really comfortable with their trading platform. The long & short is that I went back to eTrade. Since then I see Questrade has gone to a straight $4.95/trade(correct?) and I am still having the odd lot problem with eTrade so I was thinking of switching back to Questrade(that is how I came across your Blog) once more. But now I am puzzled.

  I saw some mention of Interactive Brokers: I have had a futures account with them and know a number of other traders connected to them. The consensus was that they had great commission rates but literally ZERO customer service.

  Any suggestions has to how one might get around the odd lot business with eTrade which they tell me only applies to the Canadian exchanges?

• 52 Canadian Capitalist // May 22, 2008 at 12:01 pm

  Butch: Can you explain a bit more about the odd lot problem with E*Trade? I must confess that this is the first I am hearing about it.

• 53 Butch // May 22, 2008 at 12:25 pm

  An example: I just went to my eTrade acct and attempted to place a Spot on 320 shares of QUA that I hold and received the following error message:

  “Currently eTrade Canada is not accepting odd lot stop orders for TSX & TSX Venture securities.”

  To the best of my knowledge, I did not have this problem with Questrade. I am not familar with other brokers.

• 54 Canadian Capitalist // May 22, 2008 at 1:40 pm

  Butch: I checked with TD Waterhouse and it seems to let it through with a warning “The number of shares you have entered includes an odd lot and may be subject to a price premium.”. Not sure how to get around the problem with E*Trade.

• 55 Watcher // Jun 6, 2008 at 9:38 am

  Butch: 320 shares is not an odd lot order. It is a Mixed Lot order. Methinks you don’t know what you are doing.

• 56 Butch // Jun 6, 2008 at 10:51 am

  Well Watcher may well be correct. I never proclaimed to be an expert but I do know that I can buy 540 shares of XYZ but when it comes to placing Limit orders(a Stop or a Sell) for those same 540 shares I get the error message above: “Currently eTrade Canada……………………..

• 57 humpelpumpel // Jul 29, 2008 at 8:57 pm

  Questrade’s Incompetence

  causes

  financial loss for investor

  Late June 26 2008 I funded a Questrade account after extensively familiarizing myself with the Questrader Pro demo as well as consulting with ‘new customer service’ when questions arose.

  Starting to trade on July 1.08, using the Life Questrade Pro Platform, I executed more than 100 trades as a day trader / swing trader to date.

  In absence of a comprehensive Questrade manual showing rules and regulations pertaining to its policies and trading platform, calls to customer service were needed to clarify discrepancies inherent in the life versus the demo platform.

  Unfortunately, I received as many contradicting information as there were agents I spoke with; requiring additional calls asking for verification from a supervisor. Andrew has to be mentioned as most professional, helpful, willing, competent and customer service oriented .

  Nonetheless, reaching the “life” customer service department involved extensive waiting periods and when finally connected the respective, presumably knowledgeable ‘life account holder agent’ often needed to consult someone else to get an answer to the question; i.e. clarifying after hours trading to execute an order set off many contradicting instructions by Wes, Wen, Wendy, Ricki and Karan Mahotra whereby the latter fortunately does chose to get help instead of spouting unqualified misinformation which fails when followed.

  Some of the issues are the number of decimals allowed to enter, excessively long time lapses to fill market orders despite direct access, limit orders do rarely appear on level 2 queue view, commission amounts charged are shown at 2x the amount incurred, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. and on and on.

  Aside from these shortcomings, one is hopeful will iron itself out after learning Questrade’s intricacies in the most inefficient manner, Questrade’s ineptitude and lack of concern for the client does also prompt a heavy monetary loss to the user of Questrade as shown below:

  On July 22.08 I closed one of several same symbol long positions which were accumulated over several days. The trading platform however, closed a position other than the one selected by me which had shown a gain when closed out at that time. Instead a significant loss occurred when the system chose a different position of the same symbol acquired at a different price than the one I had selected.

  I called Questrade immediately following the incident. After 15 minutes on hold, I was informed by Ilia?, / Elia? that Questrade’s policy does not allow for account holder selection of positions to be closed out of multiple same symbol positions, but the system selects automatically the first in first out position if several positions have been accumulated over several days.

  Conversely, if all of several same symbol positions are accumulated during the same day , the last position acquired is the first one out upon closing/covering one of the positions held.

  I accepted that information as a lesson learned, after confirming that I had not overlooked that crucial information in Questrade’s 70 page info/disclaimer material. Instead I was advised by Ilia/Elia? that it was my responsibility to call in for obtaining such information prior to doing the trade because Questrade is a discount broker.

  With this information in mind, on July 29, 2008 at 14.08 hours, I covered that day’s last acquired position held as one of several same symbol positions acquired during the morning of July 29.08. That particular position showed a gain of $148.73 .

  This gain, added to a $557.23 gain closed earlier that morning in other symbols’ positions, would result in a total gain of $705.96 before commissions.

  Instead, the arbitrary Questrade system selection presented me with a loss of $254.11 because the trading platform system covered a different position which was not the last position opened and thus had a different price and therefore was creating a loss. Consequently, my gain for the day to 14:09:36 hours was reduced from the earlier gained $557.23 to $303.12.

  In addition, my unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue in several phone calls to customer service resulted in repeated disconnections, more than 13 minutes waiting periods on hold and refusal by agent Ilia to connect me to a supervisor.

  Instead, rude, rushed and unfriendly, he tried to convince me that only a paper, but no real loss had occurred.

  He assured me he had now adjusted the account to eliminate the loss occurred. When I asked him how the result is shown so that I can see it in my trading account, he answered that he is not an IT programmer and thus, does not know how the computer did it.

  I was/am unable to detect any changes made, my losses remain the same as prior to my call to Questrade and are reflected at closing of the markets.

  Brad, agent at the trade desk, and later agent Karan, assured me the account would be adjusted at end of the trading day because current attempts made by them failed for technical reasons unbeknownst to them.

  During my 1 and ¾ hours occupied with the phone ordeal and frustration, my other positions could not be closed out at 14:15 hours which would have resulted in a small gain; instead, an additional loss of $ 1120.57 occurred for a total loss of a minimum of $1374.68 at the end of the trading day.

  Furthermore, the unresolved issue prevented me from re-acting to market performance during the remaining 1 ½ hours of trading, disabling the opportunity to re-gain some of the previous weeks’ losses.

  Questade’s agents remarked they are very sorry about what happened. I requested several times to be connected to a manager or supervisor and asked for a call back, I AM STILL WAITING TO BE CONTACTED.

  Related documentation is available.

• 58 Ben // Aug 1, 2008 at 2:28 am

  Last Thursday I was successfully approved for an account at Questrade after about 40 minuets of online interrogation which was easy enough. I was/am eager to invest so I immediately transfered $1000 into my account from my online bank account.
  I contacted Emil to further speed up the process and he told me he was doing all he could to speed up my account setup and that it would take 2-4 business days; so Wednesday at the very latest.
  I sent Emil an email on Monday which he hastily responded to kindly telling me that he was doing his best, and that the funds should be in in the next 2 days. Unfortunately they weren’t and on Wednesday I sent an email to Emil and another on Thursday, both of which have yet to be responded to. Indeed instead of getting an helpful information whatsoever I received insult to add to injury in the form of an email that I could have received over a week ago telling me that “my account has been approved” and listing methods by which I can “Now” transfer money into my account, online transfer being listed as the fastest.

  I feel like this latest email was manually sent as something for me to chew on as nothing gets done, I find it very frustrating and to be honest and I’m a beginning to worry about my money.

  ps does anyone know if Paul or Fox ever resolved those issues with Emil?

  Canadian Capitalist: Are you still with Questrade?

• 59 Max Power // Aug 25, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  Questrade’s promotion for 30 Free Trades is a Scam!!! I signed up because of the promotion and now they tell me I didn’t enter the promotion code. I made sure that the code was inputted and perhaps their site made an error by omitting it but instead of offering to investigate the situation their answer is because you didn’t enter the code you do not qualify. Customer Service is horrible!! They even tried to tell me my account was activated after the deadline which really outraged me. The email they sent thanking me for opening an account with them was dated in July. And if they say they will call you back be sure not to hold your breath because you will definitely not hear from them.

  It is really sad to see nowadays that a company’s image is only worth approxiamately $150.00.

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